1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording method of and a recording apparatus for recording search information that is used when searching and reproducing data able to undergo special reproduction (such as high speed image searching) into a recording medium enabling recording therein at least once. Particularly, the invention concerns a data recording method and a data recording apparatus that make it possible to produce and record search information simultaneously with the encoding of data that is recorded into a recording medium.
2. Related Art
As a generally known optical disk that enables recording therein with a high density of video data covering a significantly large length of time and that has had recorded therein data containing therein navigation data that navigates data able to undergo special reproduction (such as high speed image searching), a so-called “DVD-VIDEO” has in recent years been made commercially available. Such an optical disk is called “a ROM” and further recording of data is impossible with respect thereto. From this point of view, as an optical disk that can record therein data containing navigation data for navigating data able to undergo special reproduction, a so-called “DVD-R”, DVD-RW, or “DVD-RAM” has in recent years been already made commercially available.
Also, recently, a data compression system with respect to a moving picture has been internationally standardized as an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) system. This MPEG system is known as a system for performing variable compression on video data. In this MPEG system there is regulated a compression system that is called “an MPEG 2”. In this MPEG 2, regulation is made of setting wherein, in order that moving picture data and audio data can be transferred and reproduced in synchronism with each other there are set a transfer starting time and reproduction starting time that have been prepared by expressing the respective data by the use of a reference time.
Meanwhile, it is pointed out that mere use of only the information of such transfer starting time and reproduction starting time alone, although no problem arises when performing normal reproduction, makes it difficult to perform special reproduction such as fast forward wind reproduction and reverse wind reproduction, random reproduction, etc. or to perform reproduction processing such as that causing the system to have interactivity.
Under the above-described circumstances, there have been made various kinds of proposals that include a reproduction method wherein search information that is used when searching and reproducing data (e.g., video data, audio data, etc.) able to undergo special reproduction is previously recorded in an optical disk, whereby this special reproduction is enabled by referring to this search information at the time of reproduction.
However, the contents of the search information can be determined only after having encoded data capable of special reproduction such as video data and audio data that are going to be recorded in an optical disk and having finally produced all the recording data. In addition, this search information is recorded after having recorded all the recording data in the optical disk. Therefore, it is impossible to perform special reproduction immediately after having recorded, for example, video data and audio data.